Interdisciplinary Team Of Experts Research Articles

Attitudes on transition to adulthood among young people in Serbia

The aim of this paper is to explore the attitudes on transition to adulthood among young people in Serbia. The empirical basis of our analysis was a multidimensional study carried out by an interdisciplinary team of experts and organized by the Center for Policy Studies from Belgrade. After outlining the analytical framework for youth transition on the normative level, we intend to analyze the attitudes of young people concerning adulthood with special reference to family transitions: independence from the family of origin, partner relationships, marriage, parenthood, as well as perceptions of their agency in transition to adulthood. In the concluding part, we will interpret the findings by comparison with the trends outlined in studies of young people from some Western and post-socialist countries in the region.

Review of the International Position Paper on Women's Health and Menopause: a comprehensive approach.

On July 31, 2002, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published the International Position Paper on Women’s Health and Menopause: A Comprehensive Approach .1 This landmark report was developed over a period of 4 years by an international, interdisciplinary team of experts in collaboration with the NHLBI, the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Science Foundation, and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). There is need for a new, comprehensive approach to women’s health and menopause. Scientific evidence worldwide supports this redirection in the management of women’s health during and after the menopause transition. This perspective highlights some of the findings and conclusions in the executive summary. Comment is added regarding pivotal studies published subsequent to the completion of the International Position Paper . Women’s health and menopause is a rapidly expanding field of medical practice and scientific investigation. It has great social importance and economic impact nationally and globally, in both developed and developing countries. The International Position Paper is a joint effort to begin to address these challenges at the global level. This multidisciplinary monograph is designed to enhance the composite health of menopausal women on a global basis, with consideration of sociocultural concerns and economic issues. Importantly, a goal of this monograph is that the materials be reproduced and translated in individual countries for optimal global dissemination, which will be furthered by presentations at topic-related scientific meetings. This monograph represents the culmination of 7 years of cooperation between the NHLBI and the Giovanni Lorenzini Medical Science Foundation in a public/private partnership in the development and cosponsorship of 4 international conferences on Women’s Health and Menopause since the mid-1990s. These conferences have addressed not only cardiovascular disease, but other health issues such as cancer, osteoporosis, mental health, Alzheimer’s …

Development of a knowledge-base for automatic monitoring of renal function of intensive care patients over time

Renal dysfunction is a major problem in the management of critically ill patients. Monitoring of renal parameters over time is a prerequisite for detection of any significant deterioration of kidney function. Thus, we developed a knowledge-base for the dynamic monitoring of renal function of critically ill patients. A database with renal parameters of 750 intensive care patients was analyzed for distribution of parameters within predefined intervals of the creatinine clearance. Additionally, a subgroup of 11 patients with (quite) normal renal function over 11 days was selected and the daily variability of renal parameters was analyzed. An interdisciplinary expert team selected a set of nine clinically relevant renal parameters and formulated, on the basis of the data analysis and the parameter set, eight definitions of renal function, which represent four levels of renal performance. These definitions were arranged into an hierarchical structure, considering only clinically relevant changes of renal function. A change from one functional state to another inside of 2 days indicates a relevant alteration of renal function. Monitoring of time courses can additionally be performed by statistical analysis of the daily variability of parameters and comparison with their ‘normal’ variability. Moreover, rules were established for the plausibility check of results and interpretations of single parameters and parameter sets formulated.

Nuclear waste and future societies: A look into the deep future

Inadvertent human intrusion is thought to be a significant, if not the most significant, threat to nuclear waste held in repositories. As part of the effort to access the safety of the first United States repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico, four interdisciplinary teams of experts were brought together to provide insights into the modes and likelihoods of such intrusions as far as 10,000 years in the future. A formal expert elicitation process was used in obtaining their judgments. The teams provided scenarios that, although formed using different approaches, reflected several central themes. These themes are the uncertainty about the need for resource exploration in the future, the rate at which technology develops or declines in future, the likely failure of government control of radioactive waste sites, and the preservation and potential loss of memory about nuclear waste. Identifying possible futures enhances the ability to construct a repository that will be robust against many different potential threats.

Smoking Policy: Law, Politics, and Culture.

This work examines the interplay between public attitudes and governmental action as norms have changed on where and whether one should smoke. With evidence accumulating on the serious health risks of smoking to both smokers and nonsmokers, an interdisciplinary team of experts in law, public health, communications, political science, and sociology addresses a wide range of tobacco control issues-the politics of regulatory enactment and enforcement, tobacco advertising, cigarette litigation, and strategies of insurers and employers.

What Does the Chemical Industry Expect from Physical and Industrial Chemistry?

AbstractProcess innovation—the systematic optimization of raw materials, energy consumption and product yields—is a constant challenge for those operating plants producing vital basic and intermediate chemicals. The production processes, rather than the products themselves, exhibit life cycles and determine the profitability of downstream manufacturing. The ongoing task of interdisciplinary teams of experts is not just to develop new process routes, but, more commonly, to improve individual process steps. The impulse for this innovation arises from changes in the price and availability of raw materials, economic and environmental considerations and, last but not least, scientific and technological progress. This paper illustrates the opportunities available using examples which have already been put into practice as well as problems not yet resolved. Questions such as the use of alternative feedstocks and the switch to catalytic processes arc addressed and used to suggest novel ideals for basic research. Worthwhile projects are identified in the area of industrial oxidation, both catalytic and non‐catalytic. A highly developed, systematic, computer‐based method for optimizing the integration of energy flows within a plant is presented and novel measurement techniques for efficient production control and product quality are. discussed. The successful realization of such concepts requires the ability and the willingness to think in terms of new approaches to problem solving, making this an important objective for university education geared to future needs.